Everything about Belgium Belgie totally explained
The
Kingdom of Belgium is a
country in
northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the
European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major
international organizations, including
NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528
square kilometers (11,787 square miles) and has a population of about 10.5 million.
Straddling the cultural boundary between
Germanic and
Latin Europe, Belgium's two largest regions are the
Dutch-speaking region of
Flanders in the north, with 58% of the population, and the
French-speaking southern region of
Wallonia, inhabited by 32%. The
Brussels-Capital Region, although officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking
enclave within the
Flemish Region and near the
Walloon Region, and has 10% of the population. A small
German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the
political history and a complex
system of government.
The name 'Belgium' is derived from
Gallia Belgica, a
Roman province in the northernmost part of
Gaul that was inhabited by the
Belgae, a mix of
Celtic and
Germanic peoples. Historically, Belgium,
the Netherlands and
Luxembourg were known as the
Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current
Benelux group of states. From the end of the
Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed "the battlefield of Europe" and "the cockpit of Europe" — a reputation strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the
Industrial Revolution, generating wealth and also a demand for raw materials; the latter was a factor during
the era of its African colonies.
History
The area of present-day Belgium has seen significant demographic, political and cultural upheavals over the course of two millennia. In the first century, the
Romans, after defeating the local tribes, created the province of Gallia Belgica. A
gradual immigration by Germanic
Frankish tribes during the 5th century, brought the area under the rule of the
Merovingian kingdom, which evolved into the
Carolingian Empire in the 8th century. During the Middle Ages small
feudal states emerged, many of which rejoined as the
Burgundian Netherlands in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Emperor Charles V completed the union of the
Seventeen Provinces in the 1540s, and unofficially also controlled the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège.
The
Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) divided the area into the northern
United Provinces ('federate'
Belgica Foederata in
Latin) and the
Southern Netherlands ('royal'
Belgica Regia). The latter were ruled successively by the
Spanish and the
Austrian Habsburgs and comprised most of modern Belgium. Until independence the area was sought after by numerous French conquerors and was the theatre of most
Franco-Spanish and
Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the, the Low Countries — including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège — were annexed by the
French First Republic, ending Spanish-Austrian rule in the region. The reunification of the Low Countries as the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the
First French Empire in 1815.
The 1830
Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent,
Catholic, and neutral Belgium under a
provisional government and a
national congress. Since the installation of
Leopold I as king in 1831, Belgium has been a
constitutional monarchy and
parliamentary democracy. Initially an
oligarchy ruled mainly by the
Catholic Party and the
Liberals, the country had evolved towards
universal suffrage by
World War II with the rise of the
Belgian Labour Party and
trade unions playing a strong role.
French, once the single official language and adopted by the
nobility and the
bourgeoisie, had by then lost its overall importance as
Dutch, the language of the majority of the population, had become recognized as well, be it only in 1898. However, it wasn't until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the
Constitution was accepted.
The
Berlin Conference of 1885 gave the
Congo Free State to
King Leopold II as his private possession. In 1908, it was ceded to Belgium as a colony, henceforth called the
Belgian Congo. Belgian control of the Congolese population, particularly under Leopold II, was savage, and the country was plundered of resources such as ivory and rubber.
Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 as part of the
Schlieffen Plan, and much of the
Western Front fighting of
World War I occurred in western parts of the country. Belgium took over the
German colonies of
Ruanda-Urundi (modern day
Rwanda and
Burundi) during the war, and they were mandated to Belgium in 1924 by the
League of Nations, of which it was a founding member. The
Treaty of Versailles had subjected several German border towns, most notably
Eupen and
Malmedy, to a controversial
plebiscite, which led to their annexation by Belgium in 1925, thereby causing the presence of a small German community. Belgium was again invaded by
Germany in 1940 during the
Blitzkrieg offensive, and occupied until its liberation by
Allied troops in the winter of 1944–1945. The
Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the
Congo Crisis;
Ruanda-Urundi followed two years later.
After
World War II, Belgium joined
NATO as a founder member, headquartered at
Brussels, and formed the
Benelux group of nations with
the Netherlands and
Luxembourg. Belgium became one of the six founding members of the
European Coal and Steel Community in 1951,and of the 1957 established
European Atomic Energy Community and
European Economic Community. The latter is now the
European Union, for which Belgium hosts major administrations and institutions, including the
European Commission, the
Council of the European Union, and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the
European Parliament.
Government and politics
Belgium is a
constitutional,
popular monarchy and a
parliamentary democracy.
In the 19th century, the
Francophile political and economic elite treated the Dutch-speaking population as second class citizens. At the end of the 19th century, and during much of the 20th century, the
Flemish movement evolved to counter this situation. Following
World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main language communities. Intercommunal tensions rose and even the
unity of the Belgian state became scrutinized.
The federal
bicameral parliament is composed of a
Senate and a
Chamber of Representatives. The former is made up of 40 directly elected politicians and 21 representatives appointed by the
3 community parliaments, 10
coopted senators and as
senators by Right who in practice don't cast their vote, currently
Prince Philippe,
Princess Astrid and
Prince Laurent, children of the
King. The
Chamber's 150 representatives are elected under a
proportional voting system from 11
electoral districts. Belgium is one of the few countries that has
compulsory voting, and thus holds one of the highest rates of
voter turnout in the world.
The
King (currently
Albert II) is the
head of state, though with limited
prerogatives. He appoints ministers, including a
Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the
Chamber of Representatives to form the
federal government. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the
Constitution. The judicial system is based on
civil law and originates from the
Napoleonic code. The
Court of Cassation is the court of last resort, with the
Court of Appeal one level below.
Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main cultural communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian
political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities. The major parties in each community, though close to the
political centre, belong to three main groups: the
right-wing Liberals, the
socially conservative Christian Democrats, and the
Socialists forming the
left-wing. Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century, mainly around
linguistic,
nationalist, or
environmental themes, and recently smaller ones of
some specific liberal nature.
A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in
1999 after the first
dioxin crisis, a major food contamination scandal that led to the establishment of the
Belgian Food Agency. A 'rainbow
coalition' emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens. Later, a 'purple coalition' of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the
2003 election. The government led by
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget, some tax-reforms, a labour-market reform, scheduled
nuclear phase-out, and instigated legislation allowing more stringent
war crime and more lenient
soft drug usage prosecution. Restrictions on withholding
euthanasia were reduced and
same-sex marriage legalized. The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa and opposed the invasion of Iraq. Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the
June 2007 elections. Since then the country has been experiencing a long-lasting
political crisis. This crisis is such that many observers have speculated on a possible
partition of Belgium. Since December 21, 2007 the
Verhofstadt III Government has been in office. This coalition of the
Flemish and
Francophone Christian Democrats, the
Flemish and
Francophone Liberals together with the
Francophone Social Democrats was an interim government until 20 March 2008. On that day a new government, led by
Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme, the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007, was sworn in by the King.
In its 2007
Worldwide Press Freedom Index,
Reporters Without Borders ranked Belgium (along with
Finland and
Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries.
Communities and regions
Based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63, consecutive
revisions of
the country's constitution in 1970, 1980, 1988 and 1993 established a unique federal state with segregated political power into three levels:
- The federal government, based in Brussels.
- The three language communities:
- The three regions:
The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities, as well as the geographical limits of the empowered institutions for specific matters:
Public services rendered in the language of
individuals expressing themselves… |
the Communities |
the Regions (and their provinces) |
the
Federal
State |
|
|---|
Flemish
French |
German-
speaking |
Flemish
municipalities can ask limited services to be rendered in a neighbour language, forming 'facilities' for them.
'Facilities' exist only in specific municipalities along the borders of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Regions. |
Flemish politicians decided to merge both; thus in the Flemish Region a single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters.
Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education, and the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.).
Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities, and intercommunal utility companies.
In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specifics. With education, for instance, the autonomy of the Communities neither includes decisions about the compulsory aspect nor allows for setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications, which remain federal matters.
The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and
polders. Further inland lies a smooth, slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways, with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the
Campine (
Kempen). The thickly forested hills and plateaus of the
Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small
gorges, and offer much of Belgium's wildlife but little agricultural capability. Extending westward into France, this area is eastwardly connected to the
Eifel in Germany by the
High Fens plateau, on which the
Signal de Botrange forms the country's highest point at 694 metres (2,277
ft).
The climate is
maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (
Köppen climate classification:
Cfb). The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 °
C (37 °
F), and highest in July at 18 °C (64 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 millimetres (2.1
in) in February or April, to 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in July. Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of and maximums of , and monthly rainfall of 74 millimetres (2.9
in); these are about 1 degree
Celsius and nearly 10 millimetres above last century's normal values, respectively.
Because of its high
population density, location in the centre of Western Europe, and inadequate political effort, Belgium faces serious
environmental problems. A 2003 report suggested Belgian rivers to have the lowest water quality of the 122 countries studied.
In the 2006 pilot
Environmental Performance Index, Belgium scored 75.9% for overall environmental performance and was ranked lowest of the EU member countries, though it was only 39th of 133 countries.
Economy
Belgium's economy and its
transportation infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helps make it one of the world's ten largest trading nations. The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high
GNP, and high exports
per capita. One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports an
open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies. In 1999, Belgium adopted the
Euro, the single European currency, which fully replaced the
Belgian franc in 2002. Since 1922, Belgium and
Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a
customs and
currency union: the
Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.
Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the
Industrial Revolution, in the early 1800s.
Liège and
Charleroi rapidly developed mining and steelmaking, which flourished until the mid-20th century in the
Sambre-
Meuse valley, the
sillon industriel. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of
Flanders was in severe crisis and the region experienced famine from 1846–50.
After
World War II,
Ghent and
Antwerp experienced a rapid expansion of the chemical and
petroleum industries. The
1973 and
1979 oil crises sent the economy into a recession; it was particularly prolonged in
Wallonia, where the
steel industry had become less competitive and experienced serious decline. In the 1980s and 90s, the economic centre of the country continued to shift northwards and is now concentrated in the populous
Flemish Diamond area.
By the end of the 1980s, Belgian
macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of
GDP. As of 2006, the budget was balanced and public debt was equal to 90.30% of GDP. In 2005 and 2006, real GDP growth rates of 1.5% and 3.0%, respectively, were slightly above the average for the Euro area. Unemployment rates of 8.4% in 2005 and 8.2% in 2006 were close to the area average.
Numismatics
In Belgium, the euro was introduced in 2002. However, the first sets of coins were minted, as preparation, in 1999. Hence the first euro coins of Belgium have minted the year 1999 instead of 2002 like other countries in the eurozone. In order to conform to the common guidelines on the design of national faces of coins, Belgium has updated the design of the Belgian national face of euro coins to be produced from 2008; also adopted the new common map like the rest of the eurozone countries.
Belgium has a rich collection of collectors' coins, with face value ranging from 10 to 100 euro. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting of silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the eurozone. For instance, a €10 Belgian commemorative coin can't be used in any other country.
While all Belgian coins designated for circulation show the portrait of King Albert II, this doesn't happen for commemorative coins, where designs are freely chosen.
Demographics
At the start of 2007 nearly 92% of the Belgian population were national citizens, and around 6% were citizens from other
European Union member countries. The prevalent foreign nationals were
Italian (171,918),
French (125,061),
Dutch (116,970),
Moroccan (80,579),
Spanish (42,765),
Turkish (39,419), and
German (37,621).
Urbanisation
Almost all of the Belgian population is urban — 97% in 2004. The population density of Belgium is 342 per square kilometre (886 per square mile) — one of the highest in Europe, after that of the Netherlands and some microstates such as
Monaco. The most densely inhabited area is the
Flemish Diamond, outlined by the
Antwerp-
Leuven-
Brussels-
Ghent agglomerations. The Ardennes have the lowest density. As of 2006, the
Flemish Region had a population of about 6,078,600, with
Antwerp (457,749), Ghent (230,951) and
Bruges (117,251) its most populous cities; Wallonia had 3,413,978, with
Charleroi (201,373),
Liège (185,574) and
Namur (107.178) its most populous.
Brussels houses 1,018,804 in the
Capital Region's 19 municipalities, two of which have over 100,000 residents. are not used in public life.
As no
census exists, there are no official statistics on Belgium's three official languages or their
dialects. Various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may affect suggested figures. An estimated 59% of the Belgian population speaks
Dutch (often referred to as
Flemish), and
French is spoken by 40%. Total Dutch speakers are 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern
Flanders region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in
Wallonia and an estimated 0.87 million or 85% of the officially bilingual
Brussels-Capital Region. The
German-speaking Community is made up of 73,000 people in the east of the
Walloon Region; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of
German. Roughly 23,000 more of German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community.
The Capital Region having bilingual status obliges its authorities to attend to people and organisations in French or Dutch language as these prefer, and to show street names in both languages on the plates, but doesn't allow a bilingual school as education belongs to either the French Community or the Flemish one. Geographically, it's an
enclave in the Flemish Region though near Wallonia. Constitutionally, it's a politically distinct Region, while within its boundaries both the Flemish and French Communities exercise their authority. Until the end of the 19th century the majority of the Capital Regions inhabitants spoke local
Brabantian dialects of the
Dutch language. However a large-scale
francization of Brussels started in 1880 as more and more Dutch-speaking people became bilingual, resulting in a rise of monolingual French-speakers after 1910. Halfway through the 20th century the number of monolingual French-speakers carried the day over bilingual people. Today Dutch is spoken by approximately 150,000 residents of the Brussels-Capital Region, or a 15% minority. The first language of roughly half of the inhabitants isn't an official one of the Capital Region. Nevertheless, about three out of four residents have the Belgian nationality. In general the population of Brussels is younger and the gap between rich and poor is wider. Brussels also has a large concentration of Muslims, mostly of Turkish and Moroccan ancestry, and mainly French-speaking black Africans. Since Belgium doesn't collect statistics by ethnic background, exact figures are unknown.
In 2006, the
Université Catholique de Louvain, the country's largest French-speaking university, published a report with the introduction
(here translated): "This issue of Regards économiques is devoted to the demand for knowledge of languages in Belgium and in its three regions (Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia). The surveys show that Flanders is clearly more
multilingual, which is without doubt a well known fact, but the difference is considerable : whereas 59% and 53% of the Flemings know French or English respectively, only 19% and 17% of the Walloons know Dutch or English. The measures advocated by the Marshall Plan go towards the proper direction, but are without doubt very insufficient to fully overcome the lag."
(This particular 2006–2009 'Marshall Plan' was devised in 2004 and published in 2005 to uplift the Walloon economy.) Within the report, professors in economics
Ginsburgh and
Weber further show that of the Brussels' residents, 95% declared they can speak French, 59% Dutch, and 41% know the non-local English. Economically significant for a further globalizing future, among people under the age of forty, in Flanders 59%, in Wallonia 10%, and in Brussels 28% can speak all three forementioned languages. In each region, Belgium's third official language, German, is notably less known than those. Though an estimated 98% of the adult population is
literate, concern is rising over
functional illiteracy.
The
Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the
OECD, currently ranks Belgium's education as the 19th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average.
(External Link
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Highly politicized conflicts between freethought and Catholic segments of the population during the 1950s caused a split in educational organization. A secular branch of schooling is controlled by the Community, the province, or the municipality, while religious, mainly
Catholic branch education, is organized by religious authorities, although
subsidized and supervised by the Community.
Religion
Since the country's independence,
Roman Catholicism, counterbalanced by strong
freethought movements, has had an important role in Belgium's politics. However Belgium is largely a
secular country as the
laicist constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. Nevertheless, the monarchy has a reputation of deeply-rooted Catholicism. In 1990, for instance, as a King constitutionally obliged to sign a law legalizing abortion after it had been passed by both chambers,
Baudouin asked the then Christian-Democrat Prime Minister
Wilfried Martens to find a way out, causing the Parliament to declare him 'temporarily unfit to reign', with his consent. On the yearly national holiday, the King and Queen and other members of the royal family officially attend
Te Deum celebrations.
Symbolically and materially, the Roman Catholic Church remains in a favourable position. Belgium's concept of 'recognized religions' set a path for
Islam to follow to acquire the treatment of
Jewish and
Protestant religions. While other minority religions, such as
Hinduism, don't yet have such status,
Buddhism took the first steps toward legal recognition in 2007. According to the
2001 Survey and Study of Religion, about 47% of the population identify themselves as belonging to the Catholic Church, while Islam is the second-largest religion at 3.5%. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered to be a more religious region than Wallonia, showed that 55% considered themselves religious, and that 36% believed that God created the world.
According to the most recent
Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 43% of Belgian citizens responded that "they believe there's a god", whereas 29% answered that "they believe there's some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they don't believe there's any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
There is also a tiny
Hindu and
Sikh population. While there are around 8,000 Hindus mostly near
Antwerp, most
Sikhs (around 10,000) are either in
Vilvoorde or
Sint-Truiden (see
Sikhism in Belgium).
Science and technology
Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country's history. The sixteenth century
Early Modern flourishing of Western Europe included
cartographer Gerardus Mercator,
anatomist Andreas Vesalius,
herbalist Rembert Dodoens, and
mathematician Simon Stevin among the most influential scientists. In the first half of the seventeenth century, the Walloon method of making
bar iron found its way to
Sweden where it remained in use for more than two hundred and sixty years.
The quickly developed and dense Belgian railroad system caused major companies like
La Brugeoise et Nivelles (now the BN division of
Bombardier Transportation) to develop specific technologies, and the economically important
very deep coal mining in the course of the
First Industrial Revolution has required highly reputed specialized studies for
mine engineers.
The end of the nineteenth century and the twentieth saw important Belgian advances in
applied and
pure science. The chemist
Ernest Solvay and the engineer
Zenobe Gramme (École Industrielle de Liege) gave their names to the
Solvay process and the
Gramme dynamo, respectively, in the 1860s.
Georges Lemaître (Université Catholique de Louvain) is credited with proposing the
Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1927. Three
Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to Belgians:
Jules Bordet (
Université Libre de Bruxelles) in 1919,
Corneille Heymans (Universiteit Gent) in 1938, and
Albert Claude (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and
Christian De Duve (Université Catholique de Louvain) in 1974.
Ilya Prigogine (Université Libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977.
Culture
Belgian cultural life is concentrated within each language community, and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced. There has been since the 1970s no bilingual universities except the
Royal Military Academy, no common media, and no single large cultural or scientific organization in which both main communities are represented. Despite its political and linguistic divisions that have been strongly changing during the centuries, the region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture.
Fine arts
Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich. The
Mosan art, the
Early Netherlandish, the
Flemish Renaissance and
Baroque painting, and major examples of
Romanesque,
Gothic,
Renaissance and
Baroque architecture are milestones in the history of art. Famous names in this classic tradition include the Flemish artists
Jan van Eyck,
Rogier van der Weyden and,
Pieter Brueghel the Elder as well as
Lambert Lombard and
Theodore de Bry from Liège. The
historical artistic production of the Flemish before the early seventeenth century
Baroque style of
Peter Paul Rubens and
Anthony van Dyck is often not distinguished from that of the Dutch nor of the Walloons. In the southern Netherlands it gradually declined thereafter, although high quality
tapestry continued to be created until well into the eighteenth century.
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many original
romantic,
expressionist and
surrealist Belgian painters emerged, including
Egide Wappers,
James Ensor,
Constant Permeke and
René Magritte. The avant-garde
CoBrA movement appeared in the 1950s, while the sculptor
Panamarenko remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art. The multidisciplinary artist
Jan Fabre and the painter
Luc Tuymans are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene. Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the work of
Victor Horta and
Henry van de Velde, who were major initiators of the
Art Nouveau style.
The
vocal music of the
Franco-Flemish School developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the appearance of major violinists, such as
Henri Vieuxtemps,
Eugène Ysaÿe and
Arthur Grumiaux, while
Adolphe Sax invented the
saxophone in 1846. The composer
César Franck was born in
Liège in 1822. Belgium has also produced
music of contemporary note. The first Belgian singer to successfully pursue an international career is
Bobbejaan Schoepen, pioneer of varieté and pop music. Jazz musician
Toots Thielemans has achieved global fame, as have the singers
Jacques Brel and Italy-born
Adamo. In rock/pop music,
Telex,
Front 242,
K's Choice,
Hooverphonic,
Zap Mama,
Soulwax and
dEUS are well known.
Belgium has produced several well-known
authors, including the poet
Emile Verhaeren and novelists
Hendrik Conscience,
Georges Simenon,
Suzanne Lilar and
Amélie Nothomb. The poet and playwright
Maurice Maeterlinck won the
Nobel Prize in literature in 1911.
The Adventures of Tintin by
Hergé is the best known of
Franco-Belgian comics, but many other major authors, including
Peyo (
The Smurfs),
André Franquin,
Edgar P. Jacobs, and
Willy Vandersteen brought the
Belgian cartoon strip industry on a par with the U.S.A. and Japan.
Belgian cinema, often influenced by the
Dutch or
French, has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on-screen. The absence of a major Belgian cinema company, however, has forced several talented directors to emigrate, such as Carl Colpaert or participate in low-budget productions such as
Marc Didden's
Brussels by Night (1983). Other Belgian directors include
André Delvaux,
Stijn Coninx,
Luc and
Jean-Pierre Dardenne; well-known actors include
Jan Decleir and
Marie Gillain; and successful films include
Man Bites Dog and
The Alzheimer Affair. In the 1980s, Antwerp's
Royal Academy of Fine Arts produced important fashion trendsetters, known as the
Antwerp Six.
Folklore
Folklore plays a major role in Belgium's cultural life: the country has a comparatively high number of
processions,
cavalcades,
parades, 'ommegangs' and 'ducasses', '
kermesse', and other local festivals, nearly always with an originally religious background. The
Carnival of Binche with its famous
Gilles, and the 'Processional Giants and Dragons' of
Ath,
Brussels,
Dendermonde,
Mechelen and
Mons are recognized by
UNESCO as
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Other examples are the Carnival of
Aalst; the still very religious processions of
the Holy Blood in
Bruges, Virga Jesse in
Hasselt, and
Hanswijk in Mechelen; the
August 15 festival in
Liège; and the Walloon festival in
Namur. Originated in 1832 and revived in the 1960s, the
Gentse Feesten have become a modern tradition. A major non-official holiday is the
Saint Nicholas Day, a festivity for children and, in Liège, for students.
Sports
Football (soccer) and
cycling are especially popular amongst Belgians. Belgian keeper
Jean-Marie Pfaff is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers (soccer) ever. Belgian
Eddy Merckx is widely considered the greatest cyclist ever, given five victories of the
Tour de France and numerous other bicycle races records; his hour speed record set in 1972 stood for twelve years. Belgium has produced two female tennis champions who repeatedly
ranked number one of the world,
Kim Clijsters and
Justine Henin, and numerous other award-winning athletes.
The
Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit hosts the
Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix. The Belgian driver
Jacky Ickx won eight Grands Prix and six
24 Hours of Le Mans, and twice finished as runner-up in the Formula One World Championship.
Thierry Boutsen also won three races in 1989 and 1990. Belgium also has a strong reputation in
motocross; world champions include
Roger De Coster,
Joël Robert,
Georges Jobé,
Eric Geboers,
Joël Smets and
Stefan Everts.
The
1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp, Belgium.
Belgium has played a major part in the promotion and development of
Duathlon. More specifically
Benny Vansteelant has made a lasting legacy conquering a stunning 8 World Champion titles and 5 European Champion titles.
Belgium is currently bidding with the Netherlands to host the
2018 World Cup. Both countries previously hosted the
UEFA European Football Championship in
2000. Belgium also hosted the European Football Championships in
1972.
Cuisine
Belgium is well known for its
cuisine. Many highly ranked restaurants can be found in the high-impact gastronomic guides, such as the
Michelin Guide. Belgian food is, like the country itself, a mix of Germanic and Latin influences. Belgians have a reputation for loving
waffles and
French fries; contrary to the name of the latter, both dishes originated in Belgium. The national dishes are
steak-
frites with
salad, and
moules-frites (mussels with frites). A challenge for a television program caused no less than 307 different local or regional dishes to be presented on a 118-metre long table in Tivoli Park in
Mechelen on
1 September 2007.
Brands of Belgian
chocolate and
pralines, like
Callebaut,
Côte d'Or,
Neuhaus,
Leonidas,
Guylian and
Godiva, are world renowned and widely sold.
Belgium produces over
500 varieties of beer. The biggest
brewer in the world by volume is
InBev based in Belgium.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Belgium Belgie'.
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